Oceania Cruises is expanding the services included in its cruise fares while at the same time cutting two amenities previously covered by the line’s “simply MORE” promotional fares.
The premium boutique line, a brand of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, on September 5, 2024 launched a new “brand value promise” called Your World Included. For the first time, base fares will include crew gratuities.
Previously, some guests enjoyed free crew tips as part of the line’s loyalty club perks, or if they qualified as a travel partner (such as a travel agent), or if they hailed from certain countries. Under the new Your World Included program, all guests will receive free gratuities.
Oceania Cruises charges $18 per person per day for guests booking Concierge and below staterooms, and $23 per person per day for those booking all suites and higher categories. Under the new policy, the included tips represent savings of $126 per person and $161 per person, respectively, for a 7-day cruise.
In addition to crew gratuities, the Your World Included program covers all specialty restaurant dining, room service dining, unlimited Starlink WiFi, all non-alcoholic beverages, smoothies, and ice creams, group fitness classes, and laundry services.
The Your World Included amenities and services are valid starting on October 1, 2024 on new reservations for cruises departing on and after January 1, 2025.
At the same time, Oceania Cruises is discontinuing its “simply MORE” promotional fares, which were offered on select cruises. These fares covered most of the same amenities as the new Your World Included program, with the exception of a beverage package and a shore excursion credit. Both perks will be nixed effective on September 30, 2024.
The “simply MORE” promotion began in May 2023 when it replaced the previously offered “OLife Choice” fares. The line had already scaled back its “simply MORE” program in July 2024 when it removed roundtrip airfare and airport transfers from the list of included services.
The decision to include gratuities in the new program came as a result of guest feedback.
“Not surprisingly, our guests place the greatest value on our core inclusions such as free specialty dining and free WiFi; including gratuities creates the richest possible array of amenities and benefits for our guests globally,” said Frank A. Del Rio, president of Oceania Cruises.
“It also gives us a clearly defined position in the cruise sector as the leading ultra-premium line of choice, offering outsized value to our guests,” Del Rio added.
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Based on the included amenities on a 10-day cruise, Oceania Cruises said guests will save some $1,800 per stateroom versus what they would pay on another premium line, based on costs for tips, internet access, specialty dining, and non-alcoholic beverages.
Cruise Line to Welcome 7th Ship in Summer 2025
Oceania Cruises operates seven ships on global itineraries and recently unveiled an ambitious East Asia series onboard Regatta and Riviera in winter and spring of 2025. Itineraries of 6 to 24 days will call at ports in Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Bali, China, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
The cruise line will soon introduce its eighth ship, Allura, which is under construction at a Fincantieri shipyard in Italy. The 1,200-guest ship recently celebrated her float-out from her construction bay, as work begins on the vessel’s interior.
Allura’s inaugural cruise is set for July 2025. The 6-day sailing from Trieste, Italy, is due to call at ports in Croatia, Italy, and Montenegro. The ship will spend her first summer season in the Mediterranean, repositioning to North America in the fall of 2025 for a series of Canada/New England cruises.
